Here's how I "solved" this in myself: I use the streak feature on github. I work through books and projects, and just push them forward 20-30 minutes a day, every single day. Since starting in March, I've read and done the examples/homework for: Let Over Lambda, F# Programming, Clojure Programming, PLAI, and I'm almost done the second chapter of SICP. I've prepared and given a meetup talk, invented some neat stuff, and all around really enjoyed my increasing mastery. It's been the most productive 9 months of my life, and I don't really feel like it's much of a strain. My mind has calmed; my focus increased. I cannot recommend it enough.
The spiral of learning
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Re: The spiral of learning
#12The energy and interest you have is a tremendous positive. Don't take it for granted. It's something to nurture.
What exactly is making you feel bad - what are you thinking when you have that feeling? i.e. what thought is stopping you and why is that bad?
[OK, I'm guessing in the following - you'll find the true answer in the above questions] You say you feel bad because of a lack of mastery, but what level of mastery counts?
I think it's the lack of a goal: a defined point where you say "ah! I've done it!", instead of a continuous never-ending slog. There's always more you can do in the bigger picture, but you can choose a goal at a point that in some sense is a completion. Artificial in a way, but also on top of something, a logical boundary.
That is, a specific doable task that can be done pretty quickly; with some challenge, not too much - a level that, from your experience, is definitely doable by you; that is clear and definite, so you have a direction/guide to keep you on track, and so you know when you've reached it (so you can stop, and see how far you've come, and a take a rest to choose the next one).
Finally, it must have some meaning to you - it could be to just learn some technique to some standard... but better is an actual project that you want to do: a simple parser, an animation, a tool that you'd like to have, implement an idea, copy a game or tool or library or framework or language or app that impresses you (or some part of it). But note that it must be doable, by you, in reasonable time. So, if too ambitious (or you realize it's too ambitious as you go along!), break out simpler and simpler versions of it, or sub-parts of it - provided it still has meaning, a definite end-point, and is doable.
Of course, as you say, you are learning stuff in this spiral, and you'll get cross-insights from doing different things. It's just that you feel bad about it - I think having goals would help. [But see the questions above...]
Re: The spiral of learning
#13I find it helpful to maintain a closure ratio; I shoot for perhaps 1 out of 5 projects that get past one night's worth of fiddling should reach "closed", for some definition of "closed". It's crippling to think that you should finish everything you start. It's better to always start things and never finish than never start anything at all, but it's better to "finish" every so often too. This gives me the satisfaction of occasionally finishing things, while still letting me wander broadly. It's a powerful combo, depth and breadth.
Re: The spiral of learning
#14I admire your ability to know the unknowns. Its imperative today do do exactly what you are doing. There is just to much going on that is "worth knowing". Any good CTO would be rounded but not masters of one. The best thing about this is your spread trading your education and the overall achievement being a grander knowledge of shared knowledge. Keep doing what your doing there are no pitfalls in not specializing. BTW cheers and happy new year may your future be fruitful from your unbiased persute of education. :)
Re: The spiral of learning
#15[deleted]
Re: The spiral of learning
#16I find it helpful to maintain a closure ratio; I shoot for perhaps 1 out of 5 projects that get past one night's worth of fiddling should reach "closed", for some definition of "closed". It's crippling to think that you should finish everything you start. It's better to always start things and never finish than never start anything at all, but it's better to "finish" every so often too. This gives me the satisfaction…
I do this too. I manage it by periodically reviewing my open projects and either pruning or building a kind of mission statement–go or no go. If they make the next step it doesn't mean they have to get to the end, but it means you should spend some time scoping and figuring out what completion might eventually mean.
Re: The spiral of learning
#17 I think you could approach it a little differently.
You should try and do/create cool/interesting things/projects which help you learn the skill a little more.
Rather than going at it with the intention of learning xyz
Re: The spiral of learning
#18Here's how I "solved" this in myself: I use the streak feature on github. I work through books and projects, and just push them forward 20-30 minutes a day, every single day. Since starting in March, I've read and done the examples/homework for: Let Over Lambda, F# Programming, Clojure Programming, PLAI, and I'm almost done the second chapter of SICP. I've prepared and given a meetup talk, invented some neat stuff, a…
Are you actually committing code every day, or do you somehow represent non-code related progress (e.g. reading a programming book) in a repo?
Re: The spiral of learning
#19I used to be in the exact same position. Switching between different languages, paradigms, frameworks helps immensely in narrowing down you're area of interest. I spent a significant amount of time playing with python, tried thinking "pythonically" and using it as my side-project language. But after about a year I never got comfortable, maybe it was the mature community surrounding the language or its opinionated nat…
Why Clojure instead of F# or more advanced C#?
Because it's Microsoft technologies locked into a Microsoft stack. And before people start chiming in about Mono: Good luck selling that idea in a large bureaucratic enterprise environment. For all the hassle involved you're better off sticking to something that runs on a JVM.
Re: The spiral of learning
#20Maybe I'm missing something here, but why are you throwing yourself at all these technologies? Usually I will only exert effort to learn a new technology when it makes solving a particular problem easier.
The focus here being on the word "problem". That's where I find I get the enthusiasm to learn something or finish that I started, because the problem is interesting or useful.